Friday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time (I)

I myself am sure, my brothers and sisters, about you,
that you yourselves are good enough, and filled with all knowledge,
and able to admonish one another.
I have written to you rather boldly in some respects, to remind you,
through the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles,
a priest offering the gospel of God,
that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable,
made holy in the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, I can celebrate before God, in Christ Jesus
(For I would not dare speak of anything
which was not done through me by Christ),
because of the obedience of the Gentiles,
in word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit,
so that from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum,
I have filled with the gospel of Christ.

And I have strived to preach the gospel,
where Christ was unnamed,
so that I would not build on another’s foundation.
But, as it is written,
Those who were not told about him shall see,
and those who have not heard shall understand.

Responsorial - Psalm 98.1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 Resp. 2ac

R. The Lord has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
because he has done wonderful things.
His right hand has saved,
and his holy arm.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation.
he has revealed his justice in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his mercy and his fidelity
toward the house of Israel.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to God, all the earth;
make melody, rejoice and sing.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation in the sight of the nations.

Gospel - Luke 16.1-8

Jesus said to his disciples: A human who was rich who had a manager,
who was accused of wasting his property,
called him and said to him:
“What is this I hear about you?
Turn in the record of your management,
for you can no longer be the manager.”

And the steward said to himself: “What shall I do,
since my boss is taking the management away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I will do,
so that when I am removed from the management,
they will accept me into their own houses.

Therefore calling his boss’s debtors one by one,
he said to the first, “How much do you owe my boss?”
And he said, “A hundred barrels of oil.”
And he said to him, “Take your bill and
sit down quickly, and write fifty.”
Then he said to another, “How much do you owe?”
And he said, “A hundred measures of wheat.”
He said to him: “Take your bill, and write eighty.”

And the boss commended the unjust manager, since he had acted wisely,
for the sons of this world are wiser than the sons of light
concerning their own creations.